The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Lessons of 65-year journey to nationhood

    Lessons of 65-year journey to nationhood

    Sixty-five years after attaining Independence, Nigeria is still struggling to fulfill the vision of its founding fathers. The consolation is that there is now hope on the horizon for the country, from all indications, under the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

    The supposedly African giant has not been static since October 1, 1960, when Independence was restored after 75 years of colonial subjugation. Under successive indigenous leadership, much progress has been made across the sectors. But many errors have also been committed, which have limited the pace of development.

    As a complex heterogeneous country, Nigeria has been assailed by multiple crises of nation-building bordering on identity, political and economic participation, legitimacy of government structures, and divisive distributive politics.

    While the world powers predicted that by the mid-seventies, Nigeria would have become a medium-ranking power with a commanding influence in world affairs, the prediction has not been fulfilled.

    The failure of Nigeria to live up to expectations, despite its vast natural endowment and huge human capital, has wiped smiles from the faces of its citizens. The sad turn of events has also denied Africa a clear and towering leader who could lead and strategically champion the cause of the continent on the global stage.

    The journey of nationhood has passed through hills and valleys. There have been challenges and traumas; there have also been moments of jamboree and jocundity.

    The future was bright in 1960, but within six years, Nigeria ran into turbulence. The battle for political control through foul means, ethnicity and monumental corruption on the part of the early leaders led to the collapse of the First Republic.

    Up came the self-styled modernisers – the non-accountable power-thirsty soldiers – who toppled civilian authorities and pushed the bewildered country into a prolonged nightmare. Their methods were dictatorial. With the barrel of guns, they foisted on Nigeria a centralised system of government that was antithetical to the federal principle.

    The 1966 military coup deepened the distrust and suspicion among the unequal regions. The Unification Decree marked the beginning of a prolonged journey in national comatose.

    Up till now, the country has not fully recovered. The battle to keep Nigeria one was won, yet threats of secession by a certain ethnic group have not subsided.

    The Nigerian brand of federalism is on trial, confusing, divisive, provocative, and fundamentally unjust. Indisputably, the country has paled into a poor, ethnically-segmented nation-state battling to survive a unitary system, aptly foisted by military interlopers. State and local government creation was lopsided, and the census could not be held due to the fear of rigging the head count.

    There is a combative regression to the pre-independence battle cry for restructuring at a time developed countries expect the African giant to be a continental model of federal democracy.

    The defective federal principle became an albatross. It was a skewed arrangement with an in-built, lopsided, and marginalising distributive process. This heralded colossal injustice and induced intense agitation. The major bone of contention was the over-centralisation and monopolisation of power by a distant central government to the detriment of pauperised and disadvantaged component units in the highly heterogeneous country.

    Indeed, the notion of unity in diversity was displaced due to elongated perceived structural defects and institutional deformities, which denied the reality of peculiarities in a plural society.

    The military perceived Nigeria as a fiefdom, and the bitter power struggle broke out among its top echelon. They pushed the country into an avoidable civil war in which thousands of innocent lives were terminated. Coups became monotonous, and the prospects of popular rule dimmed.

    For 27 years, Nigeria was in the military cage. When the soldiers finally and reluctantly abdicated power in 1999, it was evident that they were not better than the civilian authorities they had illegitimately displaced. They were even more corrupt, promoting nepotism and stifling the growth as democracy.

    In 1999, those who took over power were also created in the same military image. They had a faulty compass – a severely flawed constitution that lied to and against itself.

    The ruling party at the beginning of the current dispensation was aptly called the party of generals for having the highest concentration of retired military officers of any other party. The ex-soldiers apparently thought it appropriate to assemble under the same umbrella to continue their jingoistic exploits. As Nigerians would say: they showed the country pepper. The then-ruling party boasted of retaining power for at least sixty years, confident that its jackboot tactics would fend off other parties from accessing legitimate democratic power.

    It was a harrowing experience. Under their leadership for 16 years, the country bled. Oil, the acclaimed black gold and blessing, became a curse. Its proceeds were grossly misused through the inordinate personalisation of power. The refineries remained moribund, despite the allocation of huge funds into their turnaround maintenance (TAM). The government was comfortable with a curious fuel subsidy regime, which was mercilessly exploited by the barons who held the country by the jugular.

    The country groaned. Life expectancy dropped abysmally. Basic amenities, including potable water, electricity, medical facilities and roads were in short supply. The quality of life among the citizens became abysmal. Youths deserted the country for an imaginary golden fleece in foreign lands. Many of them perished in harsh conditions while attempting to cross the Sahara Desert or the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in the search for scarce jobs.

    Graft and sleaze multiplied. Foreign debt piled up. Foreign reserves were depleted. The manufacturing sub-sector collapsed. Nigeria became a laughing stock. People started having a nostalgic feeling about the constitutional order of the First Republic, saying that presidential democracy had failed.

    As if the challenges were not enough to depress the soul of the nation, Nigeria started battling with insecurity, including banditry, terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, and other forms of violence.

    Ethnicity and religion became the willing tools exploited by unpatriotic elements to fan the embers of disunity. There was stiff resistance to change and progress.

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited the cumulative mess on May 29, 2023. It is possible that the problems he met were greater than the challenges he expected. But an experienced, competent, resourceful, and result-driven leader, he was adequately prepared for the job. The priority of the administration is to build institutions and erect lasting legacies, he has been telling his fellow compatriots.

    But to turn adversity into prosperity, the Tinubu administration had to embark on reforms across the sectors. Like a surgical operation, this has been painful. Only a bold and courageous leader like President Tinubu can take the decisive step, which has now been twisted by the cantankerous opposition as the imposition of hardship on the populace.

    Not afraid to step on toes in the national interest, the President removed fuel subsidy from day one, daring the economic saboteurs. He also dismantled corruption in the foreign exchange market. The review of the tax laws and strengthening of the revenue-generating agencies marked a clean break from the sordid past.

    More funds are now being distributed from the Federation Account to the sub-national units. If governors and council chairmen can demonstrate commitment, patriotism and discipline by channeling the money to development, all will be well.

    This is why the President urged the leaders at these tiers to wet the ground. It is puzzling to the common man, who is enjoined to be patient, that reform pains linger, and nobody seems prepared to understand the language of economic innovation that does not lead to food price affordability, no matter the macro-economic stability.

    More than a year after rail transportation was decentralised, no region in the country has taken the bull by the horns. The agitations for restructuring have continued, but, paradoxically, certain elements of devolution are either being opposed or resisted. Examples are the council autonomy and the initial reluctance of some states to welcome state police.

    Read Also: Nigeria at 65: Our economic journey and the promise of recent reforms

    A bridge builder and detribalised leader, President Tinubu has united the country through the exhibition of national outlook and promotion of inclusive policies and programmes. These are visible in the distribution of appointments and infrastructural projects, the establishment of regional commissions, and the promotion of cordial inter-governmental relations.

    The signature infrastructural projects of the administration are road construction across the six geopolitical zones. Of more significance now are the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Badagry-Sokoto road, which will open many communities across the regions.

    Infrastructural gaps have to be bridged. A thriving and buoyant economy has to be sustained by connectivity. This is why an effective and efficient transportation system is key.

    As a corollary, reforms that can resolve the lingering energy crisis would be reassuring in light of the expected support for industrialisation or production, particularly the manufacturing sub-sector, which can yield the by-products of job creation, social progress, and high competitiveness.

    For youths, the student loan scheme comes in handy. It prevents dropouts in tertiary institutions and rekindles hope about the ability of the system to offer and guarantee succour.

    The Tinubu administration has fought terror with vigour and recorded outstanding success. The achievement has to be sustained.

    To discerning minds, the restructuring that would restore federalism has begun. The prospects of state policing or multi-level policing may be the baseline.

    President Tinubu is laying a firm foundation for a virile and better tomorrow. It is mobilising and planning for a better future.

    There are still some issues that need to be addressed collectively. One of them is that the cost of governance across the tiers is huge, often wasteful, and unaccounted for.  The current expenditure should not rival capital spending. The government’s spending should focus on productive activities.

    Also, elections are still controversial with fraud, vote-buying, and violence sitting at the heart of polls. A special tribunal or court for the trial of electoral offenders is necessary. The ballot box should not be desecrated. Also, losers should be courageous to concede defeat, as done in some advanced democracies, instead of embarking on unnecessary post-election litigations that waste the time of the court.

    If all election cases can be disposed of before the inauguration date, the nation would be the better for it

    The question now is: where should Nigeria be in the next 65 years? Would it become a technological giant, a great federal democracy, a secured country, a self-sufficient nation, a united nation-state, and a world power?   

    Nigeria should plan. It should also not fail to avert failure in the implementation of its plans. A plan is not about its name but the results it generates in the long run. Africa’s most populous nation should unleash its human and technical endowments towards building a resilient future in which the citizens will stand very tall across the world. This is the time to roll up our sleeves to accomplish the task. 

  • Why unseating Tinubu will be uphill task for Atiku, El-Rufai, others

    Why unseating Tinubu will be uphill task for Atiku, El-Rufai, others

    Saying that the opposition is living in awe of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s firm foothold on the nation’s political terrain is an understatement. More correctly, the President’s popularity is a nightmare for the likes of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai and other opposition politicians whose mission is to unseat him in the 2027 elections.

    But the harder they try, the more it is looking like unseating Tinubu in 2027 is a mission impossible. If nothing else, the obvious disarray in the opposition camp point to the mountain they would have to climb in 2027 for their dreams to materialise. Even the coalition of anti-Tinubu forces championed by Atiku and El-Rufai is yet to find its feet while the elections approach at astonishing speed.

    For the opposition elements, it is a case of the falcon not hearing the falconer as Tinubu’s influence continues to loom large in their camp. It is getting increasingly difficult, as the elections approach, to know which opposition member is truly against Tinubu as many of them are clandestinely working to ensure that he secures a second term.

    It could not have been otherwise, considering how easier life has become governors under Tinubu’s leadership. Now availed with about three times the amount of money that comes to them from the federal purse on a daily basis, many of them believe of them believe they owe him a world of gratitude, and the best way they can reciprocate his gesture and sustain their new financial status is to support the President for a second term. That is particularly the case with first-term governors who are hoping for another four years after the current dispensation.

    Read Also: ‘Tinubu’s executive orders not to undermine NOGICD Act’

    A pointer to the foregoing was the recent gale of defections by opposition governors and members of the National Assembly to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as a melodrama that occurred at a recent zoning consultative meeting in Lagos by southern stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) opposed to Tinubu’s reelection in 2027.

    It turned out, however, that a few hours later, some PDP governors who had attended the said meeting where they also resolved to expel FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, former Benue State governor Daniel Ortom and others accused of anti-party activities, were on board an aircraft that took them to Brazil.

    While their mission to the South American country remains a matter of conjecture, it nonetheless provoked curiousity in that it coincided with President Tinubu’s official visit.

  • Atiku, Jonathan and 2027 (2)

    Atiku, Jonathan and 2027 (2)

    For the second time within a month, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has strongly, even vehemently, affirmed his determination to contest the 2027 presidential election and that he has no plans to step down for any contender. It was obviously in pursuit of this ambition that the Waziri Adamawa facilitated the hostile takeover of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) by elements of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as aggrieved members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), who believe they have been marginalised in the President Bola Tinubu administration. Professor Bola Olateju of the Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, most certainly thought he was doing the former Vice-President a favour when, at a recent event, he averred that Atiku was not desperate to contest the presidency but rather was more interested in the emergence of a capable leadership for the country.

    As the professor put it at the defection of some political figures to the ADC, “Atiku Abubakar’s plan is to build a better Nigeria, it’s not about being President; it’s about establishing a government that works for Nigerians – that’s why some of us are with him, not because Atiku must be President at all costs”. In a statement suggesting that Atiku was not keen to be associated with such altruistic motivation as suggested by the Professor, the former Vice-President’s media handlers brutally shut down Olateju ‘s submissions, stressing that he was not authorised to speak for their principal. Again, refuting what he described as misrepresentations in the media of an interview Atiku granted the Hausa Service of the BBC, his media Adviser, Paul Ibe, emphasised that the politician, who has been attempting to become President of Nigeria since 1993, has no intention to step down for any other candidate.

    Rather than planning to step down in favour of a younger candidate as reported by sections of the media, Mr Ibe explained that “What Atiku Abubakar clearly and unambiguously said was that young people, as well as other prospective aspirants, are free to enter the contest. He further stressed that if a young candidate were to emerge through a competitive primary, he would readily support such a candidate without any hesitation”. Of course, the problem is that with the current constellation of political forces within the ADC, it is unlikely that any other aspirant can emerge as the party’s Presidential flag bearer apart from Atiku. There is thus the strong possibility that the ADC may come to electoral grief in the 2027 election just as Atiku’s ambition put the PDP to the electoral sword in 2023.

    For the rotation of the presidency between the North and the South for periods of eight years each has become a cardinal article of faith among members of the political class across party demarcations. As we noted last week, apart from his alleged strong faith in the prophetic vision of some spiritual mystics that he is destined to be President, Atiku has not articulated any alternative economic policy agenda to demonstrate that he would perform better as President than the incumbent administration of President Tinubu. In any case, his former boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo, gave such a ringing and brutally unsavoury verdict on the character, competence and integrity of his former deputy in his autobiography and the wily Ota farmer has neither recanted on his savage put down of Atiku nor has he made any effort to revise and amend his condemnation of the latter as his book is still very much in circulation.

    Read Also: NAFDAC shuts Chinese supermarkets, cosmetics shops in Abuja

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s political moves, on the other hand, appear ‘curioser and curioser’ as certain political elements, especially from the PDP, try to lure him into contesting the presidential election come 2027. Although the ebullient former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, publicly stated that she would back the re-election of President Tinubu, especially given his support for Dr Jonathan in the 2011 elections, the buck stops at the former President’s desk. The ultimate decision is his. Will he leave the certainty of his widely acclaimed post-presidency role as an African and global statesman, or will he dive headlong into the rough and tumble of politics with the record of his tenure up for scrutiny once again in the turbulent, often dirty, game of politics?

    Dr Jonathan must surely be aware that the only reason he is being offered the bait of contesting for the presidency in 2027 is because it is perceived that, having been sworn in twice before, he can only spend one term of four years before power shifts back to the North. Of course, this itself is a matter of conjecture as he may face a bruising legal challenge as regards his eligibility to contest for the highest office in the land after having taken the oath of office twice before. It is unlikely that any serious party will be willing to take such a risk with the very possibility of not being able to field a candidate for the presidential election if the courts ruled against the eligibility of the former President.

    It has been reported that Dr Jonathan has been consulting with leaders in different parts of the country before taking a formal decision. Apart from meeting former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, he also reportedly had a closed-door meeting with the Interim National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark. At the latter meeting, he reportedly demanded to be presented as the consensus presidential candidate of the party, thus making party primaries unnecessary. It is not surprising that Senator David Mark is said to have turned down the request, insisting that any candidate should contest and emerge through competitive primaries. It is hardly likely that any party will grant Dr Jonathan his wish.

    But even if the PDP, for instance, indulges the former President by fielding him as a consensus candidate without primaries, there is no way he will escape scrutiny of his governance record during the campaigns for the general election. The greatest need of the hour is to have a President who will build on and consolidate the economic reforms of the Tinubu administration. Unfortunately, there is no indication that Dr Jonathan can offer such leadership. It has been claimed by some of his supporters that he would have removed the corruption-ridden fuel subsidy payments as far back as 2012 but for the vehement protests of the opposition. But that exactly is the absence of courageous leadership on the part of the former President that defined his tenure.

    Referring to Dr Jonathan’s seemingly revived ambition, the presidency, through the President’s spokesman, Mr Bayo  Onanuga, submitted that “It is his inalienable right to contest the presidency again, but any such bid would face Judicial scrutiny. The jury will determine whether Jonathan, who was sworn in twice as President, satisfies the constitutional requirements and is eligible to contest the presidency and be sworn in, if successful, for a third term in office”. Turning to the no less substantial issue of Dr Jonathan’s governance record in office as President, this newspaper reports Mr Onanuga’s statement thus, “Recounting its view of Jonathan’s tenure, the statement said the administration “engaged in frivolous spending, ran the economy aground and put the country in dire straits” claiming that key indicators declined and that “the nation’s economic downturn actually began under President Jonathan”.

    Continuing, Onanuga stated that “Some business moguls, allocated foreign exchange to import fuel, simply pocketed the dollars without importing anything and that some still face court cases”. The statement also accused Jonathan and his National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), of distributing security funds to “friends and cronies”. The presidency also noted that Dr Jonathan in 2010 inherited $66 billion ($46 billion in foreign reserves and $20 billion in the excess crude account (ECA) but left foreign reserves “below $30 billion” and the ECA depleted to $2 billion” by 2015 “despite generating record revenue from crude oil sales”. It also noted that oil prices averaged $100 per barrel between 2010 and 2013, yet by December 2014, “the federal government could no longer pay salaries to Federal Civil Servants” while “at least 28 states owed workers arrears”.

    Speaking sometime in 2023 at a birthday event in honour of Dr Udenta Udenta, former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi tendered an apology to former President Jonathan over the vehement opposition to the attempt of his administration to remove fuel subsidy in 2012. Dr Fayemi was quoted as saying that “All political parties in the country agreed, and they even put it in their manifesto that the subsidy must be removed. We all said the subsidy must be removed. But we in ACN at the time, in 2013, we knew the truth, sir, but it is all politics.”.

    Responding to Fayemi ‘s claim at the time, cerebral journalist, editor and now Executive Commissioner (Operations) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Mr Louis Odion, submitted thus on an online platform, “Well, I think the issue is Fayemi ‘s volte face on the ACN stand in 2012. There is nothing to be apologetic about why the ACN opposed fuel subsidy removal in 2012. One, there was about zero safety net to protect the vulnerable then. With the ruling party more interested in splurging oil money on frivolity than and Jonathan using fuel importation license as patronage to party donors, there was no guarantee of any shelter for the poor. Subsidised petrol would then appear to be the only benefit the poor received from Nigeria. Two, Nigeria had a relatively healthy foreign reserve then, plus an excess crude account. So, the position of the ACN was in good faith and on behalf of the vulnerable population who would have been left stranded had the subsidy been removed then”.

    Louis submitted further that “But the situation in 2023 was quite different, necessitating subsidy removal. One, the APC government of Buhari had, between 2015 and 2023, laid out a comprehensive safety net in terms of a social investment programme, the most ambitious in Nigeria’s history. This included a cash register for millions of Nigerians who began to receive direct money transfer monthly, and also school feeding for pupils. Two, subsidy removal became inevitable in 2023 when Tinubu took over because, from a Nigeria that had over $46 billion foreign reserves in 2012, under Jonathan, Nigeria of 2023 had a net foreign reserves of $4 billion with over $7 billion unpaid immediate IOUs and the prospects of earning a kobo from crude oil virtually zero by June 2023…Worse, more than 90% of Nigeria’s earnings were already going into debt service. This was the choking economic climate Tinubu inherited on May 29, 2023”. Surely, there will be interesting policy and economic debates ahead should Dr Jonathan decide to contest in 2027.

  • Walking into an ambush

    Walking into an ambush

    They have started again. They are busy backslapping themselves as if the points deduction translates to getting the Group C’s 2026 World Cup qualification ticket. Nigeria’s game against Lesotho will be taking place in the next four days, precisely next Friday in Durban, a South African city, with no counter plans to ensure that fans depart the country to support the Super Eagles. They have forgotten that the bad blood arising from the three points’ deduction would play a definitive role in the outcome of the penultimate game between Lesotho in Durban.

    In their wild jubilations, it is important to remind our football chieftains that the South Africans are planning to appeal the deduction of three points and three goals from Bafana Bafana’s hitherto 17 points tally to its 14 points, which will see them to the second position in Group C’s World Cup qualification table. Trust our federation chiefs to wave off any fruitful results from SAFA’s protest without critically perusing its contents to the letter. Getting lawyers to advise them on the appeal’s merits won’t be a bad idea. Certainly not in our administrators’ character. What would shock you would be the laughable undercurrents employed by many of them to get FIFA to take a decision which the South Africans are saying was taken by one member rather than by the disciplinary committee. Isn’t this a likely case of walking into an ambush?

    SAFA members, in an official letter, have said they were disappointed with the decision and will launch a formal appeal within the next 10 days stipulated by the FIFA disciplinary rules.

    “As SAFA, we are deeply disappointed with this unprecedented outcome noting, that it was delivered by a single-member panel without reasons, and without affording the association an opportunity to present legal arguments,” read the official response in part.

    “The association confirms that we have requested written reasons for the judgment and intend to lodge a formal appeal with the FIFA Appeals Committee within the prescribed 10-day period under the disciplinary rules.

    Read Also: World Cup 2026 Race: Super Eagles offered lifeline amid ‘ides of October’

    Could it be true that only one FIFA member decided the decision to deduct three points and three goals from Bafana Bafana’s hitherto 17 points instead of the disciplinary committee members as required? Are the South Africans saying that they ought to have been asked to defend themselves for an issue expressly stated in the rulebook by FIFA? Of course, these posers by South Africans and many others to be submitted in their must be completed in the next 10 days.

    The pertinent question to ask FIFA chiefs would be if the appeal would be dealt with quickly, such that it doesn’t set the stage where the Group’s decider would be played on different dates and not simultaneously as stipulated on such matters for fairness?

    Bafana Bafana will face Zimbabwe for the crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on October 10. The Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa, will host the 2026 World Cup qualifying clash between Lesotho and Nigeria’s Super Eagles, also on October 10. The other poser would be which of the two matches in Durban and Polokwane would the South Africans want to watch? Isn’t this where the Super Eagles would be walking into an ambush in Polokwane with South Africans trooping out in their numbers to root for Lesotho?

    With exactly six days to the October 10 clash against Lesotho, it is quite refreshing to note that Osimhen will be playing the two matches. Super Eagles have tottered in all the matches that Osimhen was missing. It easily explains why we are in this precarious level where every second in the last two qualifiers could bring celebrations or grief, depending on our players’ attitude in the course of the two games.

    One would have thought that after missing the Qatar 2022 World Cup, our football chieftains, the players, coaches, and the sports commission members would have learned their lesson. Not so here.

    Shettima must hear this!

    Grapevine news around sports, especially in the football circle, is filled with tales that Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima Mustapha is the reason Golden Eaglets’ Coach Manu Garba wasn’t sacked after a shambolic outing with the team last year. I have chosen to bring it to Shettima’s notice because he is too busy to be identified with the dubious acts of idle people around the beautiful game.

    The more ridiculous thing about this nauseating tale is that Garba didn’t do well again with the Golden Eaglets this year. One would have thought the NFF chieftains would have sponsored Garba to yearly coaching clinics to brush up his knowledge of the game since he guided Nigeria to lift the FIFA U-17 World Cup diadem in 2013, which is what other soccer climes’ administrators do when such feats are achieved.

    In football-efficient countries, the FA members would have kept the winning coaching team of Garba, Emmanuel Amunike, and Nduka Ugbade intact and make sure that they upgrade their knowledge yearly, especially when Amunike and Ugbade guided another crop of brilliant Golden Eaglets players to retain the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2015.

    Rather than smear the Vice President’s name with this mess, talebearers should persuade their trumpeters of falsehood to assemble Amunike and Ugbade to start the process of assembling a new set of Golden Eaglets for next year, while Garba is sent on a two-year course to update his rustic soccer tactics.

    The Vice President is too civilised, focused, and busy with other national issues to be involved in such dubious tendencies of encouraging failures to remain in positions that require qualified coaches, in this instance. Those dropping the name of the Vice President should back off! A coach is as good as his last game. Indeed, there are two types of coaches. Those waiting to be sacked and those already sacked.

    The period between now and 2013 is 12 years. Only remedial courses and upgrading of coaching licenses can make a football coach be in sync with the new trends of coaching that are always dynamic. In fact, in 2013, Ugbade and Amunike functioned as assistant coaches to Garba. Need I mention what Amunike received from reputable European managers during his soccer career, including being crowned the Africa Footballer of the Year? Recall that it was Amunike’s nifty chip in the Atlanta’96 Olympic Games’ soccer finals that gave Nigeria the 3-2 victory and gold medal. He also scored a goal at the 1994 World Cup, including other feats. It is also on record that Amunike has attended several coaching seminars, clinics, and has functioned in different Technical Committees for FIFA and CAF.

    Ugbade was captain of the Nigeria U-16 male soccer team that won the 1985 FIFA U-16 World Cup in China, beating Germany 2-0, with the intercontinental ballistic missile (apologies to the late commentator Ernest Okonkwo) shot from the left foot of Victor Igbinoba being the second goal. Ugbade was also a member of The Miracle of Dammam team, the name given to the result of a quarter-final football match between the Nigerian U-20 football team and the USSR U-20 football team at the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship in Saudi Arabia in which the Nigerian team came back from four goals down to level up and go on to win on penalties. No disrespect to Garba’s records as a player. Indeed, being a great player doesn’t translate to being a successful coach.

  • Why Anambra State deserves Ukachukwu: The case for pragmatic leadership

    Why Anambra State deserves Ukachukwu: The case for pragmatic leadership

    Anambra State stands at a critical juncture in its developmental trajectory. Despite receiving unprecedented resource allocation under the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration—quadruple what the last three administrations received in 19 years—the state’s performance under Governor Chukwuma Soludo has been deeply concerning. The recently released 2025 State Performance Index starkly illustrates this decline, with Anambra plummeting from 8th position in 2024 to 34th out of 36 states—a precipitous fall of 26 positions representing one of the steepest declines in the index.

    This dramatic ranking decline reflects systemic failures across multiple governance indicators. In Education and Infrastructure, Anambra ranked a distant 33rd relative to population size, indicating substantial gaps in educational facilities and resources. Capital Expenditure placed the state in 33rd position for per capita capital spending, suggesting severely limited reinvestment in critical infrastructure despite the massive federal allocations received.

    Public Health Delivery, a cornerstone of effective governance, witnessed the state lagging at 30th place. Most damning is the “State Attractiveness” metric, where Anambra was identified among the least preferred destinations for relocation, sharing this dubious distinction with Bayelsa and bandit-ridden Zamfara states. Perhaps most telling, despite the state’s immense potential and human capital, Anambra has failed to attract a single dollar in foreign direct investment since Soludo’s administration began.

    Read Also: Advocacy group celebrates Nigeria’s next generation of game changers

    Security remains paramount across southeastern Nigeria, yet Governor Soludo’s approach has been particularly troubling. While counterpart governors have deployed comprehensive security strategies, Soludo has relied on deploying untrained youths as his answer to the security conundrum. These operatives, lacking proper training and oversight, have been documented harassing innocent citizens and denigrating women through degrading searches. This approach has transformed Anambra into what resembles Hobbes’s description of life as “nasty and brutish.”

    Governor Soludo’s development philosophy raises serious questions about resource allocation. An academic leader touting a refurbished New Government House and Amusement Park as important to the state’s development index, while neglecting to build power plants that could serve Anambra’s industrial and commercial capacity, represents a fundamental misunderstanding of development priorities. States like Akwa Ibom have demonstrated the importance of addressing energy poverty through strategic power projects—a lesson seemingly lost on the current administration.

     The Ukachukwu Alternative

    Prince Dr. Nicholas Ukachukwu (MFR) represents a dialectical opposite to the current technocratic model that has failed Anambra. While he may not possess the academic hauteur of his opponent, history demonstrates that brilliant administrators were often not intellectuals in their own right, yet they achieved marvels where intellectuals failed. What benefit derives from having an intellectual governor whose theoretical frameworks have consistently failed to uplift Anambra society?

    Ukachukwu’s approach emphasizes practical problem-solving, stakeholder management, and resource allocation wisdom—qualities essential for effective governance. His track record speaks volumes: aside from his tenure as Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council and four years as a Representative member, no politician in the state, save the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, has touched lives like Ukachukwu has consistently done.

    His selection of Senator Uche Ekwunife as running mate further demonstrates strategic political wisdom, creating a formidable ticket that has clearly unsettled the current administration, as evidenced by recent smear campaigns—the desperate lurch of a failed administration running scared of being voted out.

  • Lagos factor in Nigeria’s quest for global power

    Lagos factor in Nigeria’s quest for global power

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was finally moved from Lagos to Abuja over 30 years ago. But the Atlantic Ocean, the ever-busy port, and indeed, other vast economic potentials, have remained immovable, drawing constant attention to the vast city as the business capital and economic nerve centre of the country.

    Although 75 per cent of the state is water, which earns it the sobriquet, ‘The State of Aquatic Splendour’, its recurrent ecological challenges, flash flooding, and overcrowding have not eroded its magnetism to people from diverse backgrounds. It has also remained a vital and viable destination for domestic and foreign investments.

    Lagos is the city of small and big commerce; a unique melting pot, an industrial and manufacturing hub, banks’ headquarters, host to representatives of all families in Nigeria, the preferred location for foreign embassies, home of modern theatre, host to the busiest airport, and a preferred tourist destination. These and many more account for its indisputable status as the fifth-largest economy in Africa.

    Lagos is the target of many youths seeking real and imagined greener pastures; it is a place to live, work, raise families and prosper. It is also, like other thriving cities, a hidden place for homeless deviants and the pride of miscreants appropriately labelled as ‘area boys’.

    How Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been able to tackle the mounting security challenges, like his predecessors, attests to the wonders of the Centre of Excellence.

    A diplomat, Dr. Dere Awosika, who chaired the recent Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) maiden Distinguished Lecture delivered by the governor, paid tribute to the city’s resilience and its capacity to withstand the threats by the men of the underworld who trouble other states and make them unsafe.

    The lecture, titled: ‘Lagos and Nigeria 2030: Projections of a World Power, offered a veritable opportunity for the assessment of the “Lagos factor” in the making of Nigeria and how it can contribute more meaningfully, based on its endowment, to the nation’s latent ambition to be a world power.

    In the 1950s, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (U.S.A.), and other world powers envisioned that by the mid-seventies, Nigeria, due to its vast natural resources and rising human capital, would have, at least, become a medium-ranking power and clear African leader in the comity of nations. It was a promising country that had television service before France got one.

    Read Also: Ondo police arrest ‘notorious gunrunner’ supplying arms to Osun, Kogi, Edo, Kwara

    However, its leaders never measured up after independence, causing the country to regress from the progressive ladder. While the Asian countries that were at the same level of development in the sixties rose to become tigers on the wings of visionary, dynamic, determined, dedicated, and transformational leaders, the opportunity eluded Nigeria.

    Historically, nations that have achieved prosperity endeavoured to lean on their resources, better managed by their leaders, before attracting partnerships with other forward-moving countries. There is inter-dependence among nations, but only healthy, resourceful and well-managed entities have the chance of survival. The motivation for development should come from within.

    It is by mobilising and maximising the human and material resources to fuel development that a country can achieve a breakthrough.

    The NIIA Director-General, Prof. Osaghe Eghosa, drew national attention to what Lagos can consistently contribute to making Nigeria a world power in the future – the quantity and quality of population, now put at 220 million, which makes it Africa’s growth centre. Thus, Lagos becomes the leading commercial city on the continent; a typical model mega city; a hub of civilisation, enterprise and culture; a sports city and producer of sports giants; the seat of judicial innovation; pioneer of the Alternative Dispute Resolution and Sexual Offences Court; the cradle of nationalistic struggle, civil society onslaughts and pro-democracy agitators who laid down their lives; the root of the private sector, big banks and systems that run African finance and the core of creative leadership.

    Lagos, perhaps, is far beyond what people see and how they perceive it. Its image, in every context, looms larger in national and continental reckoning than the residents might be able to decipher. Alas, a prophet is not sufficiently honoured in his domain.

    Echoing the political scholar, Sanwo-Olu alluded to the economic realities and potentials that make the former federal capital a factor in national growth.

    These include the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical plant, Eko Atlantic City, the Coastal Road, Badagry-Sokoto Road, Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail, the Proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge, and the Lekki International Financial Centre, which make Lagos a hub of global commerce and finance.

    In addition are “the mass of undersea cables and state-of-the-art data centres heralding a digital revolution; the array of poise for unicorn status, an expanding light rail system that has carried over five million passengers so far without a single incident, and a network of stock and commodity exchanges that are driving unprecedented wealth creation, entrepreneurial and financial innovation.”

    The state has also set the pace in sub-national security trust fund, sub-national leadership in tax reform, and traffic management emergency response, which are being replicated in other states.

    Thus, as Sanwo-Olu contended, Nigeria’s economic ambitions will be enabled by industrial and free trade zones, logistics infrastructure, financial centres and 21st-century urban developments – all areas in which Lagos is showcasing leadership.

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared the goal of making Nigeria a $1 trillion economy by 2030 and reiterated the national commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement that would halt gas flaring and the generation of electricity through renewable sources.

    In Lagos, the Sanwo-Olu administration has also unfolded the ‘Lagos State Development Plan 2052, which is a 30-year plan launched in 2022. It articulates the goal of Africa’s Model Mega City and a Global Economic and Financial Hub that is safe, secure, and productive.

    The Lagos 30-Year Plan is anchored on four pillars – thriving economy, modern infrastructure, human-centric city, and effective governance.  To the governor, Nigeria can actually become a global power in economy, diplomacy, technology, culture, defence, demography, resources, and endowment.

    Alluding to human capital development, he said if the human asset, which should be prioritised over and above oil and gas, marine and forest wealth, is properly harnessed, the country may as well be on the right path. Also, Sanwo-Olu said Nigeria should fully embrace tech knowledge and make itself felt in the areas of cutting-edge technical competencies, including cloud computing and artificial intelligence, adding that the state should become producers instead of consumers of foreign technology. The audience nodded affirmatively.

    Sanwo-Olu renewed the call for a special status for Lagos, not because other states do not matter. The governor stressed that the country can scale up its growth and development by treating the state as a pivotal leverage that can help unleash collective national potential.

    Long before he became governor,  Lagos leaders had intensified the agitation for special economic assistance to the state. The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, sponsored a Bill on the matter when she was a member of the Red Chamber some years ago. However, the proposed legislation was frustrated by other interest groups, even though many of them have family and business roots in the city-state.

    Since the Bill was rejected, no other federal legislator has attempted to renew the struggle. They limit their interventions to barking without biting; not thinking about raising a meaningful dialogue with their colleagues from other zones to see reason and buy their understanding on this issue.

    Many Nigerians and foreigners troop into Lagos daily, putting pressure on its social infrastructure and housing facilities. Most of them do not return to their roots. They join numerous others in the struggle for daily bread.

    A major challenge in Lagos is the refusal of many people and organisations to pay tax. Many companies operate in Lagos through the cul-de-sac. They neither have signboards or other means of showing their locations. They deliberately do this to evade the state’s signage agency.

    Lagos shoulders enormous national, regional, and continental responsibilities due to its distinct and peculiar position. This was among the reasons the Committee on the Relocation of the Federal Capital, chaired by the eminent jurist, the late Justice Akinola Aguda, recommended that Lagos should be accorded a special status along with Abuja, Kaduna, and Enugu. After the Federal Government officially relocated the federal capital to Abuja on December 12, 1991, it has failed to implement the recommendation.

    Why can’t Nigeria emulate Germany, Brazil, Malaysia, Australia, and Tanzania, all of which, after relocating their former capitals, never abandoned the old ones but have continued to develop them simultaneously?

    The pressure on Lagos as the first choice for economic survival makes it compelling for the public and the private sectors to work together in providing modern amenities that would make life easier for the residents. This should not be an issue for debate but a necessity to strengthen the nation’s economic nerve centre to absorb the daily influx of opportunity seekers and accommodate people of diverse characters.

  • Super Eagles: story, story…

    Super Eagles: story, story…

    I broke the story of Eric Chelle‘s appointment as Nigeria’s next Head Coach two weeks before it was made public. I knew he wouldn’t rescue our 2026 World Cup quest because those responsible for our precarious outing so far were also the brains behind his recruitment. I thought we would have truly gone for a grade A manager, and tell Nigerians that his recruitment was to reinvent the team, not to salvage our World Cup from its abyss. It would have made a lot of sense if those who brought Chelle had left him where they found him after his voyage in Mali didn’t lead the Malians anywhere.

    A grade A manager wouldn’t have been assuring us of the World Cup ticket. It would be apparent to everyone that he is rebuilding the team with every game the Super Eagles play. The grade A manager would introduce new players whose contributions would excite Nigerians during matches.

    Yes, I wrote off Chelle after the CHAN Eagles’ shambolic outing, one of which was Sudan beating Nigeria 4-0. Our team was clueless. It lacked character. Most of the players failed the basic test of trapping the ball, just as they could hardly string together six passes progressively. How can Sudan beat Nigeria using a Ghanaian coach, with due respect to the Sudanese? It is absolutely unacceptable for an age group that is awash with boys playing on grounds and streets all over the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria. All you will need to do to attract people’s attention is to bounce a brand new ball on any empty school field and see the number of people who would rush out eager to play the beautiful game.

    Drive around the country during election days, public holidays, environmental days, and see what kids and adults do on the streets playing football after voting. The CHAN age group category is where the nursery of our football resides. How do you keep a coach who couldn’t qualify out of the group stage of an age-group tourney? It is like asking an adult without a primary school certificate to teach medicine in the university because of his physique? Need I name Nigerian coaches who got to the finals of CHAN in their first attempt, though some others were awful. They were like the last group that won one group stage game?

    Had Chelle been a clever coach, then he ought to have whispered into his employer’s ears to allow the Nigerian coaches who qualified the team for the CHAN competition to complete the job and not steal their thunder. Having worked with coaches at the Super Eagles, Chelle ought to have had enough confidence to allow our coaches do the job, even if our federation’s chieftains insisted. At best Chelle should have stood his ground. He didn’t. He chose to write the rule over the Nigerian coaches. Pity.

    This is the reason we are always in Europe searching for Nigeria-born boys and girls for our national teams. However, Chelle gets my applause for introducing Benjamin Fredrick ahead of Troost Ekong in the last game in Uyo, which Nigeria won 1-0. I was, however, taken aback that Ekong started the away game against Bafana Bafana in South Africa on September 9. I had also thought that Chelle would have started his second-half team in Uyo in the next away game against  South Africa, especially with the way Tolu Arokodare played.

    Nigeria lost the best chance to beat a seemingly frightened Bafana Bafana side when Chelle didn’t stick to his winning team. The tales that he was forced to play Ekong by some people or senior members of the squad are laughable and show the quality of the coach he is. Again, we need to ask Chelle who stopped Arokodare from starting the September 9 clash against Bafana Bafana in South Africa. We need to know the other details ahead of a post-mortem. We also need to know how well or how badly Super Eagles prosecuted Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

    Speaking on Nigeria’s recent qualifier against South Africa, former Nigeria international, Jonathan Akpoborie questioned the planning and logistics.

    “We played our game on a Saturday, why not on Friday? South Africa played on Friday and were already waiting for us at home. We had to travel on Sunday, then trained just once on Monday, and played on Tuesday. That’s not preparation.”

    Read Also: Nigeria grants visa-free access to St. Kitts and Nevis Citizens

    He dismissed complaints about the quality of the pitch in Bloemfontein: “It’s not about the field. South Africa took us to the hottest part of their Country because they know our boys play in Europe and can’t cope with the heat.

    “When we were playing, if we had a game in Zambia, we’d camp in Kenya for 10 days to adjust to the climate. What’s missing now is proper planning. These are all management issues,” Akpoborie waxed lyrically.

    May I humbly ask Akpoborie, whose duties it is to prepare the team’s plans for competitions and insist on its full implementation? Clemens Westerhoff, Johannes Bonfrere, White Witch doctor, Phillipe Troussier chose their different camping sites, with Troussier opting for Sol Beni. Westerhof made Papendal, the Netherlands, the Super Eagles’ abode in preparation for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Papendal was Nigeria’s magical hub during his reign as the country’s Head Coach.

    Players competed for first team shirts because the parameters for picking the final 22-man list for the Mundial in 1994, were known through the rulebook. Of course, Westerhof held court in Papendal and kept his employers at arm’s length when in camp. The hallmark of good tacticians is their strength of character that drives everything they do. What drives Chelle to succeed isn’t enough to lead Nigeria to the Promised Land. Coaching Nigeria isn’t one for lilliputian managers. Most Nigerians are ‘fantastic’ coaches. To stop their tantrums, the Super Eagles’ outings must show signs of improvement. The present crop of players are lucky that Nigeria no longer plays soccer matches in Lagos. Otherwise, they would have been served the wrath of the fans in matches where their outings were awful. They got a dose of the fans’ angst after Nigeria led Sierra Leone 4-0 at half-time, only to finish the game at 4-4 inside the late Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia Stadium complex in Benin City. It took the effective security architecture set up by the Edo Government and the alertness of the Nigeria Police Force to evacuate the players, coaches, and officials out of the stadium unhurt.

    One isn’t an advocate of crowd violence, but our players’ lifeless performance over time needs that kind of wakeup call for them to play with zest and determination. Nigeria has lost the fear factor associated with the Super Eagles before matches, such that minnows in African football come to Uyo to mesmerise the Super Eagles during games with Nigerians watching in trepidation. We need to use the October games to reconfigure the Super Eagles with our target being to lift the Africa Cup of Nations diadem in Morocco in December. It is doable, but not with the people ruining our sports.

     If we organise ourselves and run our soccer in a transparent, business-minded way, it will thrive enough to attract juicy corporate sponsorships. Then those firms whose sponsorship offers don’t hit the mark with soccer, could be enticed to sponsor other sports such as basketball, athletics, badminton, tennis, table tennis, to mention a few, which are also money spinners in other climes.

  • Atiku, Jonathan and 2027 (1)

    Atiku, Jonathan and 2027 (1)

    Although they are impelled by divergent motivations and actuated by competing strategies, the emergent variegated opposition to a second term for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is united by a common loathing bordering on hatred for a man who, against all odds, beat them to the electoral crown in the 2023 presidential polls. Perhaps that is not too accurate after all. For, the opposition waged a most intense and unprecedented campaign of calumny against his election before and during the campaigns, worked assiduously to delegitimize the contest after his triumph, tried without success to blackmail and intimidate the judiciary into nullifying the election based on fragile and untenable evidence that the jurists found unconvincing, instigated calls for military intervention to abort his being sworn into office when the courts ruled in his favour and have unceasingly demonstrated their utter disregard for the expressed will of the electorate since PBAT’s assumption of office.

    Barely two years into his tenure, they announced the formation of a coalition to unseat him at the next election in 2027, even though moves towards this end were said to have commenced well before his administration had clocked even one year in office. Congregating ultimately in the existing African Democratic Congress (ADC), which had a leadership enthusiastic to sell its platform to the highest bidder, the likes of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar;  presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Peter Obi;, former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir ‘el-Rufai; former Rivers State governor and Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi;  former military administrator in the inglorious era of praetorian dictatorship and Senate President, David Mark; former governor of Osun State and Minister of the Interior, Rauf Aregebesola; former Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; and former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, among others have been vocal in propagating what they perceive as the strength of the party.

    The outcome of the recent by-elections across the country, however, indicates that the media prominence and assumed political status of leading lights of the ADC are at variance with their actual electoral value in reality. Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the coalition, has deftly tried to play down the import of those polls as a credible measure of the political weight of the coalition, but he would no doubt have been singing a different tune had the ADC lived up to its pre-election boast of demonstrating its emergence as a major electoral force in the exercise. Despite its poor showing in the by-elections, at which it won only one seat in Oyo State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) affirmed its position as the main opposition party in the country even though it has been embroiled in a debilitating crisis.

    Even as the prospects are bright that the successful holding of its National Convention slated for November in Ibadan may usher in the restoration of normalcy and stability to the PDP, it is instructive that the opposition may be heading into the 2027 elections even more divided than it was in 2023. Against a ruling APC rendered more cohesive by the power of incumbency and the advantage of patronage which this confers in Nigerian politics, the opposition is splintered along PDP, ADC and an embattled LP lines. It is instructive that the ADC on Thursday directed that its members still in other parties resign and formally join its ranks, indicating a lack of confidence of some of its key sympathisers in the efficacy and sustainability of the coalition.

    Interestingly, at the end of its last caucus meeting, reportedly attended by former Vice-President Atiku; its National Chairman, David Mark; National Secretary, Ogbeni Aregebesola, Mallam Nasir ‘el-Rufai, Chibuike Amaechi, Aminu Tambuwal and with Peter Obi absent but sending his apologies, it was agreed that they would all support whoever emerged as presidential candidate in the primaries. According to Bolaji Abdullahi, “All the presidential candidates have agreed to support whoever wins the primaries election”. This appears to be an astute move by Atiku, who is believed to be the moving spirit behind the ADC coalition and seems poised to clinch its presidential ticket, although it is unlikely that Mr Obi, in particular, will agree to play second fiddle to the emergent candidate if he does not win the ticket. For if he does, he is not unlikely to lose political traction and relevance in his South-East Igbo ethnic redoubt and among his truculent ‘Obidient’ base.

    Although Atiku and his minders have tried to routinely punch holes in the economic policies of the PBAT administration, he has not come up with any coherent alternative policy framework that indicates what he would do differently from and better than the incumbent administration if elected. The former Vice-President, who has been attempting to be elected the country’s President since 1993, cross-carpeting from party to party in the process, seems obsessed with realising some mystical/spiritual prophecy as revealed by his nemesis, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in the latter’s autobiography. To achieve this end, he would make any promise, such as his sudden declaration of support for restructuring of the country in the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections, even though he gave no indication of any such ideological inclination throughout his eight years as vice President of Nigeria.

    Atiku’s frequent moral strictures against the PBAT administration sound hollow as his track record in public life, particularly his role in the dubious privatisation exercise under the Obasanjo administration, or the sordid revelations as regards the handling of the funds of the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF) under his superintendence, preclude him from any ethical grandstanding. He is just another grasping member of the Nigerian predatory political class and with no redeeming record of any transformative role in public service. In 2023, he sought to contest the country’s presidency against the unwritten credo of commitment by the political class to rotation of the presidency between the North and the South in the interest of national cohesion and stability. His Machiavellian success in deploying all means, no matter how gross, to the attainment of his goal not only cost his party the election but was fundamentally responsible for the protracted crisis from which the PDP is only gradually recovering.

    The Waziri Adamawa did not hesitate at several fora to call on northerners to vote only for a northern candidate in the 2023 elections and he succeeded in winning in key northern states, including Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Taraba states. Osun and Bayelsa were the only southern states in which Atiku won. However, not only did Tinubu win in such northern states as Jigawa, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Borno, Niger and Zamfara, he came a close second in those core northern states where Atiku won. Although he is too astute to openly accuse PBAT of discrimination against the North in appointments and infrastructure projects, Atiku has left that distracting lamentation that flies in the face of the facts to the likes of his one time trenchant traducer and now fellow traveler in the ADC, Nasir ‘el-Rufai, Babachir Lawal and those socio-cultural groups in the region known to be sympathetic to his cause over the years.

    However, prominent voices in the North, including el-Rufai’s successor in Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani; Niger State governor, Umar Bago;  Nasarawa State governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule; Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Tajudeen Abass; Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau; Senator Kabiru Gaya, as well as such former governors as Umar Ganduje, Aminu Bello Masari and Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, among others, have risen to debunk the allegations against Tinubu and counter the orchestrated campaign against the PBAT administration in the North. Just as in 2023, eminent northern politicians insist that the principle of rotation of the presidency must be respected till the South’s turn ends in 2031 and declared their support for the re-election of the President.

    Still pushing an essentially northern electoral agenda, Atiku is counting on southern votes being split in 2027 while he will seek to galvanise block northern votes in his favour. Towards this end, he is assiduously cultivating the support of elements of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the political group of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, who harbour grievances against the PBAT administration. His desire is to inherit the 12 million votes that Buhari always garnered in elections in the region. But then, several eminent members of the CPC have declared their continued support for the APC. Again, virtually all those CPC members who have jumped on the coalition bandwagon did not deliver their constituencies for Tinubu in 2023. These include Abubakar Malami, ‘el-Rufai, Babachir Lawal or Hadi Abubakar Sirika.

    Read Also: NASC launches 2025–2029 strategic plan to modernise Nigeria’s seed sector

    Furthermore, neither the CPC elements supporting Atiku in the ADC nor Waziri Adamawa himself has built the kind of reputation for simplicity, humility, an austere spirituality, incorruptibility and integrity that endeared Buhari to the millions of northern talakawas. It is mere wishful thinking that they can automatically inherit the support base of a leader whose values, their lifestyles and conduct in public office flagrantly contradict. Atiku will no doubt be hoping that, if they contest, Peter Obi or former President Goodluck Jonathan will help facilitate his victory by dividing PBAT’s electoral support base in the South. Of particular interest in this regard is Jonathan, whom some prominent PDP leaders are reportedly wooing to join the party with a view to flying its presidential flag in 2027.

    For one, these pro-Jonathan PDP leaders believe that only a Southern candidate can defeat PBAT at the next election and that the former President is their best bet in this regard. Again, they believe that the goodwill he garnered by the meek and unassuming way he accepted his defeat in 2015 and his subsequent transition to a statesman for good governance in Africa will make him an electoral asset for their party. From his body language so far, there is no indication that Dr Jonathan is not quietly enthused about the prospects of his returning to power in 2027, even though some of his close aides are said to have counselled that any such attempt carries the risk of tainting and discrediting his new status as a nonpartisan statesman.

    It has been speculated that the only condition under which Jonathan will accept to be the presidential candidate of any party is if he emerges as a consensus choice who will not have to contest primaries. This seems to be the same condition he had given to those elements who sought to draft him to contest the 2023 elections on the platform of the APC. It is difficult to see how any party can meet this condition by preventing their members interested in contesting from exercising the democratic right to do so. This is particularly so as the former President’s emergence as the flag bearer of any party will most likely generate intense legal battles with unpredictable outcomes.

    Even more importantly, Jonathan’s husbandry of the country’s economic resources played a critical role in worsening the economic crisis into which Nigeria was plunged and that the PBAT administration is striving to address through ongoing painful but inevitable reforms that a consensus of experts agree are yielding positive results. The key reason proffered by advocates of Jonathan’s return to power is that he can only constitutionally spend one term of four years, after which power will shift back to the North. Has he, since 2015, demonstrated that if given a second chance, he will manage the country’s economy any better than he did between 2010 and 2015?

  • Constitutional review: The challenge before National Assembly

    Constitutional review: The challenge before National Assembly

    Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, despite serving as the supreme law for over two decades, faces mounting criticism for its inadequacy in addressing the complex realities of modern Nigeria. As the National Assembly’s Constitutional Review Committees grapple with the monumental task of reform, they must confront fundamental questions about federalism, such as resource control, state police  and democratic governance that have plagued the nation since independence.

    The 1999 Constitution, hurriedly crafted during the military-to-civilian transition, bears the hallmarks of its military origins. Critics argue that it created an overly centralized federal system that contradicts the principles of true federalism. This hyper-centralization has manifested in various ways: an over-bloated federal government that controls critical sectors like education, healthcare, and natural resources that should ideally be managed by states and local governments.

    The constitution’s deficiencies have also contributed to persistent challenges including ethnic tensions, resource conflicts, security crises, and economic underdevelopment. The current structure concentrates power in Abuja while starving states and local governments of the autonomy and resources necessary for progressive and meaningful development. This has created a dependency syndrome where states rely heavily on federal allocations rather than developing their internal revenue generation capacity as well as charting their own development as the component regions did in the 60’s prior to the coups of 1966.

    Eminent Nigerians such as The  Patriots, a group of distinguished Nigerians including elder statesmen like Chief Emeka Anyaoku, have consistently advocated for restructuring Nigeria into a true federal system. Their proposals center on devolving powers from the federal government to states and regions, allowing for greater autonomy in governance, resource management, and development strategies.

    Read Also: Ajaero’s planned inauguration of caretaker committee splits Edo NLC

    The Constitutional Review Committees should consider adopting a more decentralized federal structure similar to successful federations like Germany, Canada, or Australia. This would involve transferring significant legislative powers from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent or residual lists, enabling states to legislate on matters affecting their local circumstances.

    One of the most contentious issues in Nigeria’s political discourse is resource control. The current constitution grants the federal government control over natural resources, creating a rentier state mentality and fueling conflicts in resource-rich regions. The Niger Delta crisis, Boko Haram insurgency, and farmer-herder conflicts all have roots in resource control disputes.

    The Constitutional Review Committees should consider implementing a more equitable resource control framework. This could include ensuring a 40/30/30 formula between the oil and gas-producing Local Government Areas, the states in which they are domiciled and the center current, while also recognizing other natural resources like solid minerals. Additionally, Local Government Areas within states should have greater control over resources found within their territories, subject to appropriate federal oversight and environmental regulations, this way Nigeria would unleash it’s development potentials as not only would states compete amongst themselves , such competition would trickle down to the local governments spurring them to initiate policies for massive growth.

    Local governments in Nigeria exist more in name than in substance, largely due to constitutional provisions that make them appendages of state governments. The Constitution Review Committees should grant full autonomy to local governments, not by  direct funding from the federation account but by the suggestions above, the  constitutional review process should also ensure protection from arbitrary dissolution, and clear delineation of functions.

    This reform would bring governance closer to the people, improve service delivery at the grassroots level, and reduce the burden on state and federal governments. Local governments should also have constitutional powers to generate revenue through taxes, licenses, and fees within their jurisdictions.

    On electoral reforms and elections, the  1999 Constitution’s electoral provisions require significant updates to address contemporary challenges. The Constitutional Review Committees should consider incorporating provisions for electronic voting, diaspora voting, and independent candidacy. The constitution should also strengthen democratic institutions like INEC, giving them full financial and operational autonomy.

    The winner-takes-all electoral system has contributed to political tensions and violence. The committees should explore alternative electoral systems like proportional representation or the alternative vote system that could promote more inclusive governance and reduce electoral conflicts.

    Nigeria’s security challenges demand a fundamental review of the constitutional provisions governing security agencies. The current centralized security system has proven inadequate in addressing diverse security threats across the country’s vast territory.

    The constitution should provide for state and regional security outfits with clearly defined roles and coordination mechanisms with federal security agencies. This would enable more responsive and context-specific security solutions while maintaining national coordination for cross-border and national security threats.

    The judiciary requires constitutional strengthening to ensure its independence and effectiveness. The Constitutional Review Committees should consider provisions for autonomous funding of the judiciary, transparent appointment processes for judicial officers, and enhanced disciplinary mechanisms.

    The constitution should also address the multiplicity of courts and jurisdictions that often create conflicts and delays in the administration of justice. A more streamlined judicial system with clear hierarchies and jurisdictions would improve access to justice for ordinary Nigerians.

    To achieve the above, The Constitutional Review Committees must ensure broad-based consultation with all segments of Nigerian society. This should include traditional rulers, civil society organizations, professional bodies, religious groups, women’s organizations, and youth groups. The Patriots and similar groups of elder statesmen should be given prominent roles in providing guidance based on their extensive experience and institutional memory.

    Regional and zonal public hearings, I understand, have been held, however the process of collation and deliberation  should be transparent, with regular updates to the public on progress and key decisions. Likewise, given the complexity of constitutional reform, the committees should consider a phased implementation approach. Priority should be given to reforms that address the most pressing national challenges, such as security, resource control, and local government autonomy.

    Less controversial reforms could be implemented first to build momentum and public confidence in the process, while more complex issues requiring broader consensus could be addressed in subsequent phases.

    I also recommend  a comprehensive public education campaign should accompany the constitutional review process. Many Nigerians lack adequate understanding of constitutional provisions and their implications. The committees should partner with civil society organizations, media houses, and educational institutions to educate the public about proposed reforms and their benefits.

    The task before the National Assembly’s Constitutional Review Committees is both challenging and historic. They have the opportunity to address fundamental structural problems that have hindered Nigeria’s development and democratic consolidation. Success requires political will, broad consultation, and commitment to putting national interest above partisan considerations.

    The committees must learn from previous unsuccessful attempts at constitutional reform and adopt strategies that ensure popular ownership of the process. By incorporating insights from groups like the Patriots and other stakeholders, they can craft a constitution that truly reflects Nigeria’s diversity while providing a framework for unity, progress, and prosperity.

    The time for incremental changes has passed. Nigeria needs transformative constitutional reforms that will position the country for greatness in the 21st century. The Constitutional Review Committees hold the key to unlocking Nigeria’s potential through a constitution that works for all Nigerians.

  • Anambra governorship election: Soludo, Ekwunife in comic extravaganza

    Anambra governorship election: Soludo, Ekwunife in comic extravaganza

    On the basis of the comic relief that has attended the build-up to the Anambra State governorship election on November 8, it is unlikely that anyone would complain of a dull moment by the time the poll is over.

    Of course, there would be winners and losers on the basis of the votes polled by the individuals and political parties involved in the contest. But there is every chance that those who fail to win at the polling booths will look back to the build-up and commend it as a worthwhile ride if only on account of the public spat involving the reelection seeking Governor Chukwuma Soludo, his wife Nonye and the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Uche Lilian Ekwunife.

    Soludo had chosen the inauguration of his party’s campaign council on September 6 to fire the first salvo at the candidate of APC, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, and his running mate and former member of the House of Representatives Ekwunife, describing their educational qualifications as poor and fake respectively.

    The former CBN governor had said that Ukachukwu “crawled out of school” with F9 in three subjects he described as the backbone of leadership, namely English, Mathematics and Economics.

    “How will a man who failed English understand official documents?” he queried.

    “How will he calculate Anambra’s money when he failed Mathematics? Such a person should be driving a tipper, not dreaming of becoming the governor of a state that produced Chinua Achebe, Nnamdi Azikwe, Ojukwu, Alex Ekwueme, Chuba Okadigbo and other great icons,” he added.

    READ ALSO: How Nigerians have transformed BBNaija reality TV show

    Shifting attention to Ekwunife at the occasion, Soludo accused the former House of Reps member of parading a fake PhD certificate; a move he said could deceive young, innocent people into believing that every university degree could be purchased.

    He said: “INEC has a column where if you are filling your form, you fill your qualifications. But the running mate to this candidate wrote that she had a school cert and a PhD. What this means is that she does not have a diploma, a degree or a master’s degree, but jumped to present a PhD. That is wrong.

    “Some people have taken it upon themselves to find out where the PhD was gotten, and it turned out to be fake.

    “It is from those kinds of institution where if you pay, you get it. Some charge even 60 dollars, and they give it to you.”

    Soludo then vowed to declare a war on fake certificate holders once he was through with his battle against fake native doctors in the state.

    While Ukachukwu chose to play the gentleman and kept mute over Soludo’s jabs, Ekwunife would not allow it go without a response. She did not only defend the authenticity of her academic certificates, she launched a vitriolic personal attack on Soludo, saying he is poor in both hygiene and dressing. She then insinuated that an amorous relationship existed between Soludo’s wife and Chinwoke Mbadinuju while the latter held sway as Anambra State governor. She even insinuated that the former governor might have fathered one of her children.

    As it would be expected, Ekwunife’s allegation did not sit well with Mrs Soludo, who accused Ekwunife as crossing the red line. She vowed that she got married as a virgin and had remained faithful to her husband in their more than 30 years of marriage. She then challenged Ekwunife to make the same vow if she was sure that she had not been sleeping around.

    She also said she was ready for a DNA test for all her children, challenging Ekunife to do same.

    With the governorship election still about three weeks away, observers of events in the Southeast state are guaranteed some interesting times.